In developed and congested areas, people feel a need to monitor vehicular traffic, to assist them in selecting their mode of transportation and in planning their route. Information gathered from traffic monitoring is useful in both short term planning and long term planning. An individual seeking the fastest route across town, on a particular day may benefit from current traffic monitoring information. The Highway Department may wish to study traffic monitoring data covering a longer time period for planning purposes. Numerous methods have been developed to gather and communicate traffic information. New technology, which provides means for electronically gathering and transmitting information, has contributed to the development of more sophisticated systems.
A variety of devices have been developed which can be positioned near a roadway to collect data including the presence of vehicles and their speed. Some of these devices make use of cameras to collect the data for analysis. For example, see the patent to Bunnen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,634, disclosing a monitoring device which produces a photographic image for electronic analysis to determine traffic volume.
A traffic situation can be monitored by a video camera, which provides an actual view of the situation to be monitored, at a remote location. Systems currently in use employ stationary cameras which collect and transmit video images. The cameras are placed in areas which are of interest for monitoring. The video image of vehicular traffic, in an area of interest, provides valuable information, including the density, speed and pattern of movement, in the area being monitored. Although stationary cameras are widely used, these systems cover only the limited area which can be surveyed from the point of installation. Ideally, the range of coverage could be expanded by adding additional camera installations; however, a large number of stationary cameras would be needed to provide complete coverage of a section of highway. Furthermore, the stationary cameras must be weatherproof and are typically mounted on tall towers alongside the roadway. These factors significantly add to the expense of establishing and maintaining a system of multiple stationary cameras.
Other systems employ vehicle mounted data collection devices. The patent to Vieweg, U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,064 provides for the speed of a vehicle together with the location, obtained by a global positioning system, to be input to a computer on the vehicle. The data is analyzed and a result is transmitted to a central collection point. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,625 to Fastenrath for an example of the collection, analysis and transmission of speed data, on a moving vehicle. The use of multiple units and the mobility of the units themselves allows for a greatly expanded area of coverage.
A need exists for an invention which will make use of vehicle mounted data collection which includes a video image with the information presented by the system.